(ATR) Mayor Ana Botella says Madrid’s inspection by the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2020 Olympics is still satisfactory with three days down and one to go.
Wednesday morning’s presentations addressed the themes of accommodation and transport, two areas in which the Spanish capital can now claim to be very strong.
"We were told today by members of the Commission that we must be very proud of our city, and they are right. The venues we’ve visited today are spectacular together with the views of the city. At times living in Madrid, we don’t realize what we have here," Botella told the press during her closing press conference.
"We should also be very proud of our public transport. In Spain and this city, we are very strong in tourism, but with this Games we want to put forward other accommodation options and provide a place for all pockets. People’s homes and schools would allow people with low incomes to come to Madrid and also enjoy the Games experience."
Madrid boasts a strong underground metro system, when not on strike, and the bid’s public transport plan is based on an existing infrastructure in which more than 19 billion euros has been invested since the 1990s.
The demand for hotel rooms will be covered by 44,933 hotel rooms, 80 percent of which will be in a radius of 10km from the city.
The oft-repeated compactness of the bid was demonstrated during an afternoon visit to the east of the city that took in venues away from the Olympic Park cluster in the so-called Manzanares Zone, named after the Spanish capital’s river.
The Club de Campo just outside the main ring road will host golf. Bid president Alejandro Blanco was keen to underline it’s "golf in the city, not even 15 minutes from where we are seated now, and to get back from the Caja Magica today we took 15 minutes exactly," he said.
The Caja Magica is the purpose-built tennis facility in Madrid that Botella today described, perhaps a little eagerly, as "the best" in the world.
It was there where the press covering the inspection crossed paths with the IOC members and Spanish tennis legend Manolo Santana, who was on hand to meet both parties.
Santana won the French Open in 1961 and 1964, the US Open in 1965 and Wimbledon in 1966. He told all present how he took part and won the first Olympic tennis event when it was still a demonstration sport in Mexico in 1968.
"I want to live long enough to see a Madrid Olympics. This is my city," he said. "It’s perhaps too late for Rafa (Nadal), who will be 34, but we have lots of good Spanish youngsters coming through who could do well," he added.
Another venue visited was the Madrid Arena that will host handball. Mayor Botella was asked Wednesday evening about the tragedy that took place in the same venue last Halloween that ended with four teenagers suffocating.
As both Blanco and Botella pointed out, the event was organized by a third party, heavily overcrowded and was non-sporting, with DJs and live music acts. Therefore, Botella confirmed, the events had not been discussed with the IOC members.
Blanco went further, describing the venue as "world class, emblematic and a pleasure to present."
Wednesday’s agenda ended with an official reception in the Royal Palace where Prince Felipe greeted both IOC members and the press.
Click here for the Around the RingsPodcast from day three of the IOC Evaluation Commission.
Written and reported in Madrid by Dermot Ledwithand Ed Hula
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